Tumakuru-Shivamogga NH-69 four-laning project nearing completion, final package due by March 2027

Nitin Gadkari, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister. | Photo Credit: File photo The four-laning of the Tumakuru-Shivamogga section of National Highway-69 (old NH-206) is nearing completion, with three of the four project packages either completed or substantially completed, while work on the final stretch is scheduled to be completed by March 31, 2027, according to the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.In a written reply to an unstarred question by B.Y. Raghavendra, Shivamogga MP, in the Lok Sabha on Thursday (July 30), Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said that the four-laning project has been taken up under four packages based on the Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM).According to the Ministry, Package I, covering the Mallasandra-Karadi section, spans 52.89 km at a sanctioned cost of ₹1,364 crore. The project has been completed, with 100% physical progress and the entire required land acquired and handed over.Package II, the Karadi-Banavara section, is 56.70-km long and was sanctioned at ₹1,505 crore. It has achieved 99.98% physical progress and is substantially completed. Similarly, Package III, covering the Banavara-Bettadahalli stretch of 48.51 km, has recorded 98% progress and is also substantially complete.The remaining Package IV, from Bettadahalli to Shivamogga, covers 56.33 km and has a sanctioned cost of ₹2,083 crore. The Ministry said that 46.11 km of work has been completed, translating to 83.78% physical progress. Of the 321.92 hectares required for the project, 318.97 hectares have already been handed over. The revised completion date for this package is March 31, 2027.The Minister said delays in National Highways projects are primarily caused by land acquisition issues, statutory clearances, utility shifting, encroachment removal, law and order problems, shortage of construction materials, poor contractor performance and force majeure events such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Published - July 30, 2026 08:41 pm IST